Means for discharging rockets



Nov. 16, 1948. C-ID. scHERMuLY ETAL 4 2,454,096

4 MEANS FOR DISCHARGING ROFKETS Filed July 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG .2. 4

1 I 6 0h/ aa fl um/ rW rea'J z nesAszslerlbafy spacers 9. on the inner casing 3. The cap 2 is secured to Patented Nov. 16, 1948 UNITED .STATES PATENT opne MEANS FOR DISCHARGING ROCKETS Conrad David Schermuly, Alfred James Schermuly, and Charles Schermuly, Parkgate, Newdigate England, assignors to The Schermuly Pistol Rocket, Apparatus Limited, Parkgate, NewdigataEngland, a British company 7 1 Application Julyi22, 1944, Serial No. 546,162

., In Great Britain May 11, 1943 means for ejecting said rocket from'said inner casing and for igniting the rocket.

The outer casing may completely surround the inner casing, in which case it is formed of two detachable parts, or it may surround only the lower part of the inner casing, in which case it may be detachably secured to the inner casing or its buoyancy chamber. The device according to the present invention is eminently suitable for use from aircraft. For example, if it is desired to illuminate an area of the sea, a device according to this invention, containing a rocket carrying an illuminating flare, may be dropped from the aircraft into the sea whence the rocket is fired into the air.

The invention will now be described with refer- 3 Claims. (Cl. 102 )j least partly surrounding said inner casing, a rocket in said inner casing, means for ejecting said inner casing from said outer casing, and

of example, in which Figure 1 is a view, partly in section, of a form of rocket-discharging device in which the outer casing completely surrounds the inner casing, and Figure 2 is a similar View of a modification in which the outer casing surrounds only the lower part of the inner casing.

Referring to Figure 1, the outer casing consists of a lower portion l and a cap 2. The lower portion 1 is provided with an igniter 5 of the kind which operates after a'delay. Igniters of this kind are known to the art. A wooden plug 8 is located in the outer casing at the bottom thereof, so that a burster 4 contained in the plug 8 is in a position to be fired by the igniter 5. The plug 8 has a recess for the reception of the end of an inner casing 3. A delay fuze H and a burster 12 are located in the lower end of the inner casing 3 in such position that the delay fuze ll can be ignited by the flash of the burster 4. A rocket I is located in the inner casing 3 with its rear end resting on the perforated plate M adjacent the burster 12. The rocket has a head la which may contain a flare, if desired with an attached parachute.

A buoyancy chamber 6 is provided the lower portion l of the outer casing by a waterproof seal I0. To ensure that the device will remain in the correct upright position, weights l3, for example of lead, are provided.

In operation, the delay igniter 5 is armed and the device dropped from an aircraft into the sea. Th'e delay of the igniter 5 allows time for the The rocket 1 is held in position by' 2 device to assume an upright position in the water before the burster 4 explodes. The explosion of the burster 4 ignites the delay fuze II and forces the block 8 from its position in the outer casing, separating the outer casing into its two parts and ejecting the inner casing 3 from the outer casing. This allows the inner casing 3 to rise to the surface by virtue of the buoyancy chamber 6.

When the burster l2 explodes, it ignites the rocket l and at the same time forces the rocket upwardly, forcing out the spacers 9 thus releasing the rocket for discharge from the inner casing 3.

Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawings, the outer casing l surrounds only the lower part of the inner casing 3. The casing l is provided with an igniter 5. A plug Ba rests at the bottom of the outer casing and is secured to the inner casing 3. A burster 4 contained in the plug 811 is placed so that it can be fired by the igniter 5. A delay fuze II and a burster 12 are located within the plug Ba in such position that the delay fuze H can be ignited by the flash of the burster 4. A rocket! is located in the inner casing 3 with its rear end resting on a plate Ma, the said rear end of the rocket being adjacent the burster l2. The rocket T has a head la which may contain a flare, if desired with an attached parachute. A buoyancy chamber 6 is provided on the inner casing 3. The outer casing l is secured by a waterproof seal 10 to the buoyancy chamber 6. To ensure that the device will remain stable during its flight through the air, an iron ring I3 is provided. This ring falls off as soon as the case I is separated from the buoyancy chamber.

In operation, the igniter 5 is actuated when the device strikes the sea and this ignites the burster 4. The explosion of the burster 4 ignites the delay fuze II and separates the outer casing I from the buoyancy chamber 6 which then rises to the surface by virtue of its buoyancy. When the burster l2 explodes, it ignites the rocket 1 and forces the plate 14a upwards thus driving the rocket forward and at the same time forces off the cover l4 and allows the rocket to leave the inner casing 3 under its own power.

We claim:

1. A device adapted to be dropped from aircraft into water and to discharge a rocket when in the water, comprising an inner casing, a buoyancy chamber on said inner casing a rocket in said inner casing, an outer casing surrounding at least the lower part of said inner casing and buoyancy chamber, an igniter on said outer casing adapted to be operated after the device strikes the water, a burster arranged to be ignited by said igniter, a delay fuze arranged to be ignited by said burster, a second burster arranged to be ignited by said delay fuze, whereby upon explosion of said first-mentioned burster, said inner casing is ejected from said outer casing and upon explosion of said second burster said rocket is fiEFEnENfiEs E ejected from said inner casing and simultaneously ignited. The following references are of record in the 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said file 0f t-hIS Patent 0111581 casing is in tWO detachable parts which 5 UNITED STATES, PATENTS completely surround said inner casing and buoya b Plumber Name Date ancy cham e1. 76

V .l 3 ,375 Fletcher Jan. 10, 1888 3. A deVlCe as claimed 1n claim 1 Wherem said V l 740,317 7 Rose et a1. Sept. 29, 1903 outer casing surrounds only the lower part of said 10 1,299 217 (Pam Apr 1 1919 inner casing and buoyancy chamb'er'and is dez j Dam'blanc 1938 tachably secured to said buoyancy chamber. 7 2,344,957 'Anzalone Man 1944 CONRAD DAVID SCHERMULY. FOREIGN PATENTS ALFRED JAMES SCI-IERMULY. Number Country Date CHARLES SCHERMULY. 15 611,843 Germany Apr. 6, 1935 

